BEVERLY, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (19-10, 10-0 GNAC) edged Endicott College (16-10, 10-2 CCC), 2-1, in a non-conference baseball contest on Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore starting pitcher Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.) allowed one unearned run off five hits and three walks with four strikeouts and improves to 2-0 on the season with the winning decision.
Today's win is the Monks' 13th consecutive victory, as the team has not lost since suffering an 8-7 setback in 11 innings at Husson University on March 31st. The current streak is tied for the second longest in program history, as the Monks rattled off 13 straight victories during the 2006 campaign. The longest winning streak in the team's 44-year history took place in 1986, when the Royal Blue won 22 consecutive contests.
Saint Joseph's fell into a 1-0 hole with two out in the bottom of the first, when senior second baseman Harry Orringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) singled and scored when a Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) base hit was misplayed in the outfield.
The Monks tied the game in the top of the fourth when senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) singled and later scored on a Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) base hit and took the lead on the seventh, when sophomores Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) and Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) opened the frame with back-to-back doubles.
The Gulls nearly tied the game on one swing with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. After freshman Marc Poirier (Lunenberg, Mass.) retired the first two batters, Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 went to his bullpen and brought in sophomore southpaw Ben Coleman (Williamstown, Mass.) to face left-handed Matthew Paola (Middlebury, Conn.), who launched a long drive to center that, off the bat, looked to be either over the fence or for extra bases. Sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) came up with the play of the day, perhaps the season thus far, with an over the shoulder diving catch on the warning track to preserve the Monks' one-run advantage.
The Monks squandered a chance to tack on an insurance run with one out in the top of the ninth when Meehan was hit by a pitch and sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb followed with a single up the middle, but junior reliever Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) induced an inning-ending double play ball off the bat of sophomore Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) to snuff out the threat.
Endicott had the tying run on base in the ninth, when junior shortstop Cody Hall (Rutland, Mass.) reached with a two-out single, but freshman lefty Joshua Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) managed to close out the game with a groundout off the bat of sophomore centerfielder Cam Farnham (Andover, Mass.), picking up his second save in as many games in the process.
For the Monks, Betts was 2-4 with a double and an RBI and Donovan went 2-4 with a run and a two-bagger. Poirier fanned a pair during 1.1 innings of perfect relief while Coleman and Travis Godbout (Portland, Maine) retired a batter apiece and Partridge allowed a hit with a punch-out over 1.1 frames.
For the Gulls, Orringer was 2-4 with a run and Kochiss went 2-3 with a double. Junior starting pitcher JJ Branch (Milford, Mass.) took the loss after yielding two runs (one earned) off nine hits with four K's in six innings. Junior Davarn Nova (Buzzards Bay, Mass.), sophomore Eric Nagle (Manchester, Conn.) and Quattro combined to allow one hit with a strikeout over three frames of relief.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 12-5 in the history of the series with Endicott College, a team the Monks defeated by a 3-2 margin last spring.
Saint Joseph's returns to play Thursday with a conference doubleheader at Johnson & Wales University. First pitch for the opener is slated for 3:00 PM.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
